The Guard Review
By: T.J. “what a beautiful fuckin’ day” Mulligan
Don fucking Cheadle.
On Monday, April 25, 2011 myself and Joshua Richey, my friend and this site’s co-contributor and editor, arrived in New York City to attend the Tribeca Film Festival. As this was our first time in New York and first time attending a film festival, let alone as press, we were a bit caught up in our awe while at the same time trying to get everything figured out. You see, upon retrieving out press passes we learned that our particular pass “level” only garnered us entrance into select screenings, putting asunder our all-day viewing plans we had hatched prior to departure. That night, in the confines of our hotel room, we perused the Tribeca guide book provided for us to create for ourselves a new festival itinerary. Going through the screening lists we were pleased to find some of the films we had wanted to see all along still available to us, but were left with a gaping hole for our final movie on that Wednesday. Stuck between the choice of two films, I let Joshua have the ultimate say-so. “Let’s go with The Guard, it has Don Cheadle in it,” was his response, echoing the same sentiment I had had. Our itinerary complete, we settled in for rest, anticipating the week ahead. Wednesday arrived and as we sat for our second and final screening of the day I tweeted: “About 10 minutes shy of seeing The Guard. The selling point was Don Cheadle.” It’s safe to say both Joshua and I had no real expectations for this film (outside of Cheadle rocking the shit, of course). What we got was hands down the best film of our entire Tribeca experience. And the only reason we went in the first place was because it featured Mr. Cheadle.
Don fucking Cheadle.
The Guard is the story of Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brenden Gleeson), a weathered veteran guard in a small Irish town. Boyle has a crass personality and a questionable moral foundation. He not only drinks heavily, cavorts with prostitutes and partakes in the occasional recreational drug use, he openly admits to it to anyone who asks (and some who don’t). One day the F.B.I., led by Agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle), interrupt his small town existence with word of a big time drug trafficking affair taking place in and around the area. As cops are being either bought off or disappearing, Gerry must determine what’s worth the risk and just how deep into everything he’ll allow himself to go… while still leaving time to get piss drunk and bang hookers.
I won’t bury the lead here, Cheadle was pretty great as Agent Everett, but he was a supporting character in every sense of the word. Gleeson is the big, bright shining star of this flick, making an otherwise despicable character into someone the audience roots for and cares about. I can’t think of one lack-luster performance in the whole film, which is a credit to the cast but also the keen writing and directing of John Michael McDonagh. From the first scene of the film - a red car, music blaring, speeding down the roads along the Irish countryside - you get a sense of McDonagh’s ability to shoot a scene that gets the audience amped up and their blood pumping. Then, a short time later, a scene of characters simply having a discussion is shown; the camera barely moves, letting the dialogue and performances keep the audience just as rapt into the flick as if a visual spectacle were taking place. This man is a bonafide talent, bet on it.
This film carries with it an energetic and comedic feeling present in other recent English films such as Snatch and Hot Fuzz, but it is also very much a Western. Gleeson’s Boyle is a loner sheriff, threatened by a changing society where people like him are fossils. When the threat of incoming bandits shake the foundation of his town, he must determine what’s worth fighting for and when he should just walk away. Aside from the modern setting, Irish accents and locale, and largely comedic overtones, Boyle is this generations Rooster Cogburn (sorry Jeff Bridges).
I give The Guard 5 Don fucking Cheadles out of 5.
